“What has antibody ever done for us? A story of people, pathogens and protection”

Professor Adam Cunningham Professor of Functional Immunity School of Immunity and Infection College of Medical and Dental Sciences

Adam Cunningham is Professor of Functional Immunity in the School of Immunity and Infection in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences and is a member of the MRC Centre for Immune Regulation and the Institute of Microbiology and Infection. His central research focus is to use in vivo models of infection as tools to study how immune control differs during and after infection or vaccination compared to the resting state. His studies have involved examining features of the response to bacteria including Chlamydia, mycobacteria and Salmonella and how these findings help us understand diseases such as asthma, tuberculosis and distinct forms of salmonellosis. He has identified, and is co-developing, a novel vaccine against some of the most severe forms of Salmonella infection. The principles identified in his research help us understand how bacterial infections are controlled and how vaccines function. A further implication from his research is that infection leaves a long lasting imprint on us and alters who we are and how our bodies function at all stages of our life. This talk will outline the journey his research has taken so far and the exciting new directions in which this will lead in the future.

For further information please contact Yvonne Dawson on y.dawson@bham.ac.uk / or by telephone on +44 (0)121 414 4054